Android N is the latest version of Android and one which has not been officially released for the Android masses yet. However, it has been released in a developer preview form and over the last few months has seen updated versions coming through. So while most of the wider and main changes that should be expected with Android N have already been well documented, as is the case with anything prior to a full release, Android N is subject to change and unannounced aspects are always possible, if not likely. Speaking of which, a report out of Android Police today is now detailing one of those possible changes that has yet to become public knowledge.
The change revolves around the on-screen navigation buttons. In their current guise, the on-screen buttons are designed to be simplistic in nature and consist of a left facing triangle to denote backwards, a round circle which denotes home and a square which typically denotes task switching. In terms of the changes now being noted, it seems their overall appearance while largely remaining the same will see some tweaking going on. The most obvious of which is the color which is now said to adopt a more opaque appearance. What is more important though is that the home key is said to adopt much more of a different look than ever before. The home key will be somewhat multi-colored and those colors could be reflective of specific functionality, with the colors said to become more animated when long pressed. If this sounds somewhat confusing or vague then then that is because the details are extremely vague at the moment. Although, you can see a render from Android Police below which looks to visualize how the new navigation icons could look and the multi-colored home key.
Of course, at the moment this is just a rumor with the information said to come from a ‘reliable source’. So as well as the possibility of the information being incorrect, it could be inaccurate or just incomplete. What is said though, is that if these changes are correct, they will arrive in the final version of Android N. Although, it is also currently unclear whether it will be available to all devices running Android N or just the 2016 Nexus devices.